A Certain Appeal
by J.B. the Delirious
Summary: A collection of unconnected Appealshipping oneshots/drabbles. Rating may change.
1. Blame the Boxers

"Zoey, uh..."

That was as far as Dawn got before her words caught in her throat. There wasn't any reason for it, she told herself. It was just Zoey, her rival and best friend, in a sleeveless white shirt and a pair of boxers.

"You okay there, Dawn?"

Zoey's voice broke Dawn out of her reverie and for a reason she couldn't quite explain, her stomach knotted up and she felt heat infuse her face.

"You have nice legs," as soon as she said it, Dawn wished she hadn't.

Not that it wasn't true. Zoey did have nice legs. Very nice legs, in fact.

"Thanks? You too," Zoey's eyebrow raised.

Dawn blushed harder.

"You wanna sit down?" Zoey asked, and Dawn remembered where they were.

They were at Zoey's house, alone. She was alone with Zoey. She was alone with her best friend. She was alone with her best friend who was making her feel very...what was Zoey making her feel? It wasn't exactly discomfort, and she didn't feel weird, not really. Whatever it was, Zoey was making her feel it.

"Yeah," Dawn more or less collapsed on to the couch. When had her knees become so weak?

"You sure you're okay?" Zoey joined Dawn on the couch and placed her hand on the bluenette's knee.

At the touch, Dawn jerked.

"Excuse me," Dawn said and bolted for the restroom.

Dawn's heart was pounding and the knot in her stomach had tightened. Why did she feel like this? Zoey was her best friend. She was funny, and nice and attractive...

Oh God. She was attracted to Zoey. There was no other explanation. Dawn tried to wrap her mind around this realization. She had never felt this way about anyone, much less another girl, and she wasn't sure what she thought about it. She didn't have a problem with people who were attracted to the same gender, so she didn't feel disgust. Still, she never thought that she might be one of them.

"You okay, Dawn?" She realized she hadn't bothered to close the door.

And Zoey was in front of her and she looked so concerned for her, and then Dawn felt an overwhelming desire to kiss her. So she did.

It was better than she had imagined. It was awkward and wonderful and she had to grasp the counter behind her to keep from falling.

"Uh..."

Dawn felt a surge of pride for herself at Zoey's speechlessness, and she smiled shyly.

"I think I like you, Zoey."

Zoey smiled and Dawn felt her heart flutter.

"Oh? And I thought maybe you just kissed me for the hell of it," Zoey smiled again, and Dawn nearly swooned, again. "I think I like you too, Dawn."

Dawn smiled and grasped Zoey's hands in her own. "Nice boxers, by the way."

Zoey's response was to laugh and press her lips against Dawn's.


	2. A Mother's Worry

Johanna was worried. She was worried about her daughter. Of course, this was nothing new, she worried about Dawn constantly, but it had always been in the way that most mothers worry about their children. This type of worrying, the kind that gnawed away at you, was the result of a phone call she had gotten from her daughter a couple of days ago. They had chatted about Dawn's progress as a coordinator, how she and her Pokemon were doing, but toward the end of the conversation Dawn had said what was at the root of Johanna's worry.

"I have to tell you something mom, but I have to do it face to face."

Johanna's mind had been firing off various ideas as to what her daughter had to tell her that was so major she had to come home to do it. Had she been diagnosed with some rare disease? Had she been assaulted? Had something happened to one of her Pokemon? Was she doing drugs? Had she accidentally killed someone?

At the chime of the doorbell, Johanna ran to the door, desperate to see her daughter. When she opened it, she not only saw her daughter, who was looking perfectly okay and whole, but also her friend Zoey.

"Hi, mom," Dawn greeted, giving her mother a hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Berlitz," Zoey said and Johanna noted the hint of nervousness in her tone.

"Hi, honey. Hi, Zoey," Johanna looked intently at her daughter, "So what is it you need to tell me?"

At this, Dawn moved next to Zoey, and Johanna couldn't help notice that the two girls were holding hands. "Zoey and I, we're um…we're dating."

The relief that Johanna felt was indescribable. "For Arceus sake, Dawn, I thought something had happened to you."

She had to stifle a laugh and the shocked look on her both her daughter's and Zoey's faces.

"You're not…mad, that I'm dating another girl?" Dawn asked, her voice tinged with nerves.

Johanna smiled, "It's something I'll have to get used to, but you picked a good one," at this Zoey smiled sheepishly.

"Hey mom, Zoey and I were going to go to the lake. Is that okay?"

Johanna made a show of looking like she was in deep thought, "Hmmm, I suppose. Just make sure you two are back for dinner," she glanced at Zoey, "And don't get into any trouble."

The way Zoey said, "yes ma'am," let Johanna know that the red headed girl got the meaning.

Dawn grinned at Zoey, and grabbed her hand. "See you later, mom!" she called, already dragging Zoey out the door.

Johanna chuckled to herself and closed the door behind the two girls. Dawn dating Zoey was something she'd hadn't been expecting, but it sure beat what she had been.


End file.
